Dawnstar's Glory
by Karma's Best Friend
Summary: Maia should be dead. Instead, she was reborn as a Clan cat, in a litter of five. This is her story, about life in the Clans and what it really means to come home.
1. Dead Girl

A/N: I know I have other stuff to work on! I know! I am working on it! The next chapter of Woods should be out sometime next week.

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Maia sighed, drumming on the steering wheel as the rush hour traffic crawled by, as slow as if the wheels were running through tar. The light changed, and she advanced on the intersection, her ear glued to her cell phone. "Look, I told you I won't be home until later. Order some takeout from-." She was cut off by the speeding pickup truck that crashed through and rammed the side of her car.

Maia laid on the pavement where the impact had thrown her, a bloody halo spreading around her head and _Mommy mommy help me Mommy_ her limbs spread-eagled. Passersby were shrieking, and sirens _it hurts_ _God it hurts am I dead_ wailed in the distance. Maia fleetingly thought about the mess she would leave, and then she thought nothing at all.

Pictures. A warm darkness all around her, then stills of a bright, blurry world. Warmth and the same heartbeat that had echoed in the darkness. The taste of mother's milk, and being placed into a crib with a small stuffed animal for company. The rest of her life played in slow mo, then darkness again.

Maia felt she was going insane in this darkness, punctuated by bursts of color. She screamed orange, sang purple and green, and wept a bitter blue. Her whole body was pulsing light in rainbow hues, shimmering and changing seemingly at whim. And suddenly a burst of emotions.

Rage at the cruel world.

Deep regret at the things she would never experience.

Envy and worry, hope and sorrow, joy and a deep, deep sense of failure came hand in hand.

She ranted and raved, pleading with the faceless God she prayed to for just one more chance at a full life. And someone, somewhere, heard and granted her wish.

---

"Okay, Silverfern, here comes another!" Nightwing and her apprentice Blossompaw stood in the ThunderClan nursery, coaching a large dusky gray she-cat through her birth. The father, Redclaw, hovered nervously in the background until he was shooed away. This was the last kitten now, a beautiful golden- brown she cat. As Silverfern, panting, delivered the last cat of five to the world, Nightwing exchanged a swift glance with Blossompaw.

The young kit, new to the Clan, was not breathing.

---

Maia stirred. _Good, it was just a dream._ Her eyes still closed, she stretched and rolled over, reaching for her glasses on the bedside table. Her hand hit grass, and her eyes shot open.

She was not in her bed, but lying in the grass on the shore of a pond. Her glasses were on her face. And she was awake.

Suddenly, it all came back to her. Driving home from work. The pickup truck that had ran the red light and rammed her. Her death. Shaking, she looked at her hands. They were whole and sound no sign of injuries whatsoever. Before, her hands had been bloody and broken. Shakily, she stood up. The pain was gone. It was then she felt the eyes on her back.


	2. A Second Chance

A/N: I have the story pretty planned out, so this will update rather quickish. :D Thank you for the reviews!

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Maia gasped. Across the shore, thousands of cats were amassed. And not just ordinary cats, but cats with shining eyes and fur that had stars sprinkled throughout it. The apparent leader, a tomcat with dark ginger fur and white paws, stood and began to walk around the lake.

Maia rubbed her eyes hard. Surely this was a hallucination, and she was under the influence of anesthesia in the hospital, while doctors fought to save her life. When she stopped rubbing and looked, not a thing had changed.

Except for a small kit that had appeared, laying in between her and the ginger tomcat. It did not stir, and Maia knew it was dead. A mist began to swirl out of the kitten's body, gathering into a kitten of stars, like all the other cats gathered round. The ginger cat looked up at her, and though no words were spoken, she had an understanding of what he meant.

_You are needed, Maia. You have choices. You can become this kitten, and have your second chance at life. You will not remember your past until it is time, but you will have a great destiny._

_Or you can move on, to the Great Beyond. Choose carefully, for this will be your last chance at the full life you should have lived._

Maia sighed. Was this really a choice? Of dying, or getting a new lease on life? "Alright." she said aloud. "I'll do it."

The world fell out from under her feet, and all was black. The small kit gasped. Her eyes were shut, but she felt herself dangling from something by the skin of her back. The scent was not her mother, and she let out a pitiful, rasping mew.

---

Nightwing walked through the tunnel leading out of camp, the stillborn kit dangling from her jaws. Behind her, the grief-stricken yowls of the bereaved mother carried on the still air. Suddenly the kit twitched in her mouth, and Nightwing stopped dead. Could it be? Just as she was about to pass it off, the kit jerked, let out a rasping mew, and continued to breathe on her own. Nightwing hurried to camp as fast as she could, without harming the kit.

"Have you named them yet?" Snowfur, another queen, was looking fondly at Silverfern and the five scraps of fur nursing at her stomach. "Yes, we have." replied Redclaw, the father. "Moonkit," said Silverfern, tapping a pure white she-cat at the end gently with her tail. "And Yellowkit, Grasskit, Sootkit, and Dawnkit." she continued, naming a bright yellow tom, a tabby and white tom, a dark gray she-cat and the golden-brown miracle kit respectively.

And in Silverpelt, the warrior spirits continued to watch, hoping their decision was right.


	3. Six Moons Later Part 1

A/N: Told ya it would be quick! Now we know which Clan Maia belongs to……

Thank you for the lovely reviews, horseloverheather amd Rainflower of RiverClan!

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"Hey!" Dawnkit squirmed as her brother Yellowkit pinned her, and Grasskit grabbed the ball of moss they were playing with right out of her mouth. "Sootkit! Snowkit! Get them!" Snowkit, who had scrambled up onto the roof of the nursery, jumped onto Grasskit's back from above. She tugged on the ball of moss, trying to pull it from his grip, while Sootkit tried to yank Yellowkit off her.

The play-fight spilled over into where Icekit, one of Snowfur's litter, was napping in the sun, close to his mother. He squeaked in protest as his tail was stepped on by one of the much larger kits, and Snowfur's head shot up at the small noise of pain. She barreled into the fight, bundling her kit away from the others." You're getting too old for this!" she snarled, giving Icekit a soothing lick on the head. "If you can't play calmly, you need to go back to the nursery!" As she bundled him into the nursery, she muttered "They're six moons, they should be apprenticed before they hurt some cat!"

As soon as Silverfern came back from making dirt, she was informed of the misbehavior of the quintet and bundled them back into the nursery. As it turned out, this was a good thing.

There was a yowl from outside the camp, and the dawn patrol came skidding back into camp with their fur on end. Dawnkit, peering through a small hole in the bracken, recognized her dad, Redclaw, the deputy of ThunderClan, and a couple of new warriors, Suntail and Mouseleg. They were panting and looked like they had narrowly escaped being run over by a monster!

Rainstar, the Clan leader, padded out of his den and came to meet them. He asked something of Redclaw, who replied with an indistinct but panicky mew. All of a sudden, there was a crash back behind and to the left of the nursery, where the queens made dirt, and a yowl of panic.

A couple of warriors ran past, and Snowfur and Silverfern took up a defensive position in the entrance to the nursery. Around them, Dawnkit could see a ball of ginger and white fur rolling in the dirt, which she realized was her father and a rogue, fighting!

She laid her ears back flat, even though nobody seemed to be trying to attack them so far, and bared her teeth. She could feel her brothers on either side doing the same, and heard Sootkit trying to comfort Icekit and Cloudkit in the background. Snowkit restlessly paced the den.

A cracking noise came from the side of the den, and claws poked through the wall of the den an inch from Icekit and his brother. Sootkit hurriedly pulled them into the center of the den, but part of the wall tore away to reveal a rogue snarling in at them! His large claws, with fur caught in them and a coat of blood, shined in the dawn light.

Dawnkit looked to her mother or Snowfur, but they were fighting other rouges, She looked back at the black tomcat, who was enlarging the hole he had made.

There was a pause……….

And then Yellowkit yelled "ATTACK!"


	4. Six Moons Later Part 2

A/N: Whew, I think that's enough for one day. I'm pooped.

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The rouge yelped and pulled back. A flood of angry kits was a force to be reckoned with, after all. Dawnkit leaped onto the rouge's back, sinking her claws in, and held on for dear life. Snowkit was next to her clinging to his scruff, and the rouge screeched as she bit down on an ear. Yellowkit clamped down on the black tom's tail, and Grasskit clamped down on his leg.

All at once, Dawnkit noticed that the strange cats around her were fleeing. And all at once, the unlucky tom fell over. Grasskit staggered back, his mouth bloodstained and open in a silent wail of shock as the black rouge thrashed, his life draining through the deep wound in his neck.

"I killed him!" Grasskit stumbled and almost collapsed, leaning heavily against Dawnkit. "He's dead! I killed him!" Silverfern came hurrying over, shushing him, and consoling him. But Dawnkit shuddered at the wild look of bloodlust she had spied in Grasskit's eyes.

A yowl filled with grief rose on the night air. It came from Blossompelt, who was standing over a black and white cat. Dawnkit felt a throb come over her; a feeling like the earth was falling out from under her feet. Nightwing, the cat who had delivered her and her siblings, had helped the Clan through one of the worst bouts of greencough in clan history, which Yellowkit had almost died from……was dead.

It was only now that Dawnkit felt the pain of a long wound in her side. Timidly, she walked over to Blossompelt. "Blossom….pelt?" The young cat swung her head to look at Dawnkit, her eyes glazed. She woodenly got up, gave Dawnkit's wound a perfunctory sniff, and then disappeared into the medicine cat's den. She came back with poppy seeds, of which she gave Dawnkit one, and then put a poultice the wound.

She then treated Grasskit for shock, and as she moved onto the next patient Silverfern was approached by Rainstar. A conversation ensued, with many looks at the cluster of kits sheltering together in the middle of the clearing.

After the conversation ended, Rainstar jumped onto the Highrock.

"All cats old enough to catch their own prey join here, beneath the Highrock for a Clan meeting."

The cats of the Clan began to gather. All looked ragged and weary. Half of the fur was missing from Mouseleg's pelt, and one of Snowfur's claws was missing. An apprentice had lost an eye. Dawnkit felt a sense of horror. This was the first battle she had ever seen, and she felt like the Clan would never recover from the wounds it had suffered.


	5. Becoming Dawnpaw

A/N: I have stuff to do on weekdays, so this probably won't update as much. D: How does Dawnblaze sound for a warrior name for Maia? And if my reviewers would be so kind, I'm having trouble thinking up suffixes for my cats. S.O.S!

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"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join here, beneath the Highrock."

Dawnkit watched the proceedings with a bright glint in here eyes. Sure, she was tired, but she had a good sense of what was about to happen. Her siblings and she were six moons, after all. Maybe the next place she might be sleeping in would be the apprentice's den.

"Dawnkit, please step forward. This is a proud day for the Clan, despite the loss and injury we have suffered. By naming new apprentices, we show that ThunderClan will remain strong. Dawnkit, from now until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Dawnpaw."

"Suntail, you are ready for your first apprentice. You will be mentor to Dawnpaw. I know you will pass on your wisdom and faith to Dawnpaw, and teach her the skills she will need to become a brave warrior of ThunderClan."

Suntail, a long furred golden yellow she-cat, leant down and touched noses with Dawnpaw. Almost bursting with excitement, she moved to the side and watched her siblings gain their apprentice names.

"Yellowkit, please step forward." continued Rainstar. Dawnpaw watched the pride evident on her brother's face as he touched noses with his new mentor, a brown tom named Oakgaze. They moved next to Dawnpaw and Suntail, and she gave her brother a lick on the ear.

"Snowkit, please step forward." Dawnpaw observed the look of slight nervousness on her sister's face, and the way her eyes flashed as she touched noses with Ivynose, a small creamy colored she-cat. As she sat on Dawnpaw's other side, Dawnpaw heard a small but distinct sigh of relief.

"Grasskit, please step forward." Dawnpaw, with a shudder, saw the same glint of anticipation for the bloody battles ahead as she had seen in his eyes while fighting the rouges. He sat down with his mentor, a burly dark gray tom named Duskfur, next to Yellowpaw.

"Sootkit, please step forward." Sootkit was bouncing with excitement as she became an apprentice, and nearly gave her mentor Dustwhisker a bloody nose with the enthusiasm she touched noses.

As Sootpaw sat down, the entire Clan began to chant their names. "Snowpaw! Yellowpaw! Dawnpaw! Grasspaw! Sootpaw!"


	6. Fight

A/N: Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! I got Writer's Block at the end of this, and I also wanted to catch Sees a Dream up. Anyway, thank you for the loverly suggestons for our quintet's warrior names, Spiritpelt.

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Even though Dawnpaw felt on top of the world, she was brought down to earth with a bump by Suntail reminding her that there was work to be done. The rouges had left several holes in the walls of the camp, the largest near the queen's tunnel where they went to make dirt. "Can I at least grab a mouse first?" moaned Dawnpaw, and was rewarded by a nod from Suntail.

Over at the fresh-kill pile, Dawnpaw grabbed a plump squirrel and brought it over to where Snowpaw and Sootpaw were eating. "Mind if I join you?" she purred, dropping the squirrel and lying down next to them. "I'm so excited!" mewed Snowpaw. "Now we get to go exploring outside of camp, and learn how to hunt, and-!"

"Repair dens?" an unfriendly voice cut in. Dawnpaw flattened her ears and glared over to where Darkpaw, the apprentice who had lost an eye in the fight, sat in front of the medicine cat's den. "Nobody asked you! And anyway, you should stop treating us like we're still kits!" "Yeah!" agreed Sootpaw. "We may be young, but we're apprentices just like you!"

Darkpaw sunk his claws into the ground in front of him, kneading the dirt. "You're not apprentices. You're sniveling, coddled little whelps who don't know the meaning of the-!"

"Excuse me?" Blossompelt asked coldly, walking out of the medicine cat's den to stand in front of him. "If you're taking that attitude, I think you had better come inside and help me with these herbs." Darkpaw spat crossly and followed Blossompelt inside the medicine cat's den.

A moment later, Blossompelt slipped out and walked over to where Dawnpaw was finishing up her squirrel. "I'm sorry about that." Lowering her voice, she whispered, "Between you and me, I'm not sure he'll ever get over not being able to be a warrior. He's taking it hard." Dawnpaw nodded, her rage dissipating and turning to sympathy for the older apprentice. She could not imagine not being able to fight for her Clan, and the very thought made her shudder.

Again in a hushed voice, Blossompelt continued. "I'm hoping that if I get him to help me enough, he might decide to be a medicine cat\. Otherwise, he'll just have to join the elders, and at such a young age. Barely older then you three."

A tad uncomfortable- Blossompelt didn't normally gossip like this- Dawmpaw took the last bite of squirrel and got to her paws. "Right…..I think Suntail want's me to help her with patching up the wall behind the nursery. Blossompelt nodded affably, and walked back into her den.

"Well, I had beeter go help Suntail." said Dawnpaw, standing up tp duiguise the boiling rage she felt under her pelt. What Blossompelt had said did not sate it one whit. _He's lucky Grasspaw didn't hear him, or he would have ended up with a clawed ear._


End file.
